East o' West o'

Williamstheatre proudly presents a new musical by alumna Michelle Rodriguez ’12 (music, lyrics, and book). How does one navigate love of home alongside a desire to explore the big, wide outside world? Not to mention the possibility of falling in love with a bear? Driven by folk-inspired music and performed with an all-acoustic6-piece band, this re-imagining of a classic Norwegian folktale follows the journey of Ava as she struggles to save her family’s farm. Held captive in the grotto of a bear, Ava meets a cast of winds and trolls and learns how to find beauty and purpose in life while being stuck “in-between.”

Michelle J. Rodriguez ’12 is a Puerto Rican singer/songwriter and musical theatre composer based in Monteverde, Costa Rica, where she teaches theatre, music and art at the Monteverde Friends School. She graduated from Williams College this past June, where she majored in Theatre and Arabic Studies and served as artistic director for Immediate Theatre. Regionally, she has performed with The Bengsons, Bernice Lewis, Patti Larkin, and the Williams College Jazz Ensemble, and is currently the Artist-in-Residence in the Williams College Theatre department. Recent works includeEast o’ West o’!,Betty White: The Musical!(Immediate Theatre, April 2011) and a number of other musical theatre works and radio plays that celebrate aging, understanding culture, and the joys of self-discovery.